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Little Children

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Little Children (2006)

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Reviews Counted:152

Fresh:121

Rotten:31

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: Little Children takes a penetrating look at suburbia and its flawed individuals with an unflinching yet humane eye.

Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $5,307,219

Synopsis: Actor-turned-director Todd Field follows up his Oscar-nominated drama, IN THE BEDROOM, with this ambitious adaptation of Tom Perrotta's celebrated novel. Set in the imploding minefields of modern... Actor-turned-director Todd Field follows up his Oscar-nominated drama, IN THE BEDROOM, with this ambitious adaptation of Tom Perrotta's celebrated novel. Set in the imploding minefields of modern suburbia, LITTLE CHILDREN follows several inhabitants of a small American town as they fumble their way through adulthood. Numb-to-life housewife and mother Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) finds an outlet for her yearning in gorgeous househusband Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson), who is crippled with insecurity over the fact that his perfect wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), is the family breadwinner. When Sarah and Brad meet at the local playground one afternoon, a passionate affair is sparked. In a further attempt to reclaim his youthful fire, Brad joins a night football league with Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich), a former cop who has begun to harass a convicted sex offender, Ronnie J. McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley). These troubled lives eventually collide, causing each individual to take full responsibility for their not-so-responsible actions. Adapted for the screen by Field and Perrotta and artfully photographed by Antonio Calvache, LITTLE CHILDREN is a bitingly funny, and nakedly honest, critique of middle class dysfunction. Though the cast is universally superb, it is former child actor Haley (THE BAD NEWS BEARS, BREAKING AWAY) who steals the show. After only two features, Field proves that he is a truly gifted storyteller. This film was included in the 44th New York Film Festival organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [More]

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Jane Adams, Phyllis Somerville, Sarah Buxton

Director: Todd Field

Director: Todd Field
Producer: Albert Berger
Composer: Thomas Newman
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for Little Children

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141 - 157 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Seems terribly confused about whether it wants to be literary drama or out-and-out satire.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
09/30/06
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

A rich, textured character piece that maintains the quirkiness of the novel, but loses a bit in its oddly slow pacing.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
09/30/06
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

I'm sorry, an interesting premise, a keen eye and a veneer of emotional seriousness are not enough.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
09/29/06
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Todd Fields' superb film adaptation of the novel by Tom Perrotta result is challenging, accessible and hard to stop thinking about.

comment Comment
09/28/06
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the most original and nuanced suburban dramas ever to grace the screen; it explores the complexity and intensity of yearning.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
09/28/06
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

From start to finish, it is artistic, viable, wry and wrenching.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
09/27/06
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

At its heart, this is a story about the way we judge others, the way others judge us, and the way we judge ourselves.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
09/27/06
Kim Voynar
Kim Voynar
Cinematical

Suburbia continues to serve as the dartboard of choice for filmmakers bent on demonstrating their urbane superiority to the dull denizens of tract housing.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
09/26/06
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
Village Voice

'Little Children' sometimes trivializes what deserves serious treatment.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/26/06
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

In requiring only passivity from its audience, whom it shovel-feeds faux-erudite lessons, it's the Academy Award-baiting version of Don't Ask, Just Tell cinema.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/24/06
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

Every so often a film happens along that defines its times. Once of these is Little Children, in which middle America and its suburban mores and fears fall under the acerbic gaze of Todd Field.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
09/19/06
Richard Mowe
Richard Mowe
Boxoffice Magazine

An across-the-board stunner.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/13/06
John DeFore
John DeFore
Hollywood Reporter

This should be an Oscar contender across the board.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
09/10/06
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

A deftly made, emotionally acute and at times a tad fastidious examination of cracks in middle-class American family life.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/05/06
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Compelling in the way it explores the notion that adults always cruelly use children for their own ends.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
09/02/06
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

It is hard to figure out where to start discussing Little Children. It is easy enough to say that it is the best American film of 2006 to date, since it is.

Full Review Source: Movie City News | comment 1 Comment
09/01/06
David Poland
David Poland
Movie City News

As a take on American suburbia, Field's impressive but flawed film offers a darkly humorous view of characters whose paths crisscross in unexpectedly comic and tragic ways. It's a classic anatomy of individual and community in contempo American life.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
09/01/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
 
 
141 - 157 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
all

Latest News for Little Children

July 23, 2007: Jackie Earle Haley, More Confirmed for Watchmen Cast
Expect to see a whole lot of "Watchmen" updates over the next several months. And here's one: Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, and Malin Akerman have signed deals to appear in... More...

June 18, 2007: Patrick Wilson (Pretty Much) Confirmed for "Watchmen"
He did great work in both "Hard Candy" and "Little Children," so now it might be time for Patrick Wilson's shot at the comic book material. More...

January 30, 2007: SAG Award Winners Revealed, Oscar Predicting Hits Full Steam
Known as a big predictor of what'll go down Oscar night, the Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony took place last Sunday to a rapturous Hollywood crowd without a hitch (or... More...

January 23, 2007: Oscar Nominations Announced: "Little Miss Sunshine," "Dreamgirls," "Borat" Deemed Worthy
The expected heavy hitters made the grade -- Scorsese, Whitaker, "Dreamgirls" -- but there were a handful of surprises...let's just say, if you thought you'd never... More...

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